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Sirachai Shin
Arunrugstichai
p h o t o j o u r n a l i s t
The King's Portraits: Support of Thai Royal in the South
 A faded image of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit decorates a clock face in an old house. |  Various portraits of Thailand's royal family, including present King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) and late Kings Bhumbibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Chulalongkorn (Rama V) are seen inside frames for sale at a picture framing shop. |  A worker installs a portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) taken during his youth in a cafe. |
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 Pictures of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) decorate the walls of a tea shop. |  A portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and present King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) and present Queen Suthida is seen decorated on a roadside noodle stall. |  Images of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit adorn the walls of a barber shop. |
 Pictures of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) hang on a wall at a tailor's shop. |  Pictures of Thai monarchs are seen inside a roadside clothing stall at a night market. |  A portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit adorns the wall of an empty tourism office. |
 A portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) hangs above a doorway at a general store on an island. |  A poster with a portrait and a quote of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is seen on a wall as students walk beneath it at a school on an island. |  Images of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit hangs above a doorway in a Chinese shophouse. |
Southern Thailand has long been seen as a stronghold of Royalist support. Reverence for the present and past kings is high, and publicly visible all across the southern provinces. Portraits of the royal family saturate public and private spaces in the region, a reminder that despite ongoing protests in the capital, support for existing institutions remains high in some parts of the country, and especially in the south.
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